PBS Latino Americans Resources & On-Demand

PBS Latino Americans Documentary Series

Resources from the PBS Latino-Americans, a three-part documentary series chronicling the rich and varied history and experiences of Latinos over the past 500 years. Watch Online in English or Spanish

Latino Americans, a landmark three-part, six-hour documentary. Latino Americans is the first major documentary series for television to chronicle the rich and varied history and experiences of Latinos, who have for the past 500-plus years helped shape what is today the United States and have become, with more than 50 million people, the largest minority group in the U.S. A companion book by Ray Suarez, Senior Correspondent for PBS NEWSHOUR, will be released to coincide with the series. The television broadcast is also be accompanied by a nationwide public engagement initiative, and bilingual digital engagement and public education campaigns. 

Resources from the program include:

Watch in English & Watch in Spanish:

Learn: Education Lesson Plans & Activities

Educator Site:

Explore The Project Website (English & Spanish)

Learn More: PBS Latino Americans Resources Flyer

Latino Americans is led by Emmy Award-winning series producer Adriana Bosch and documents the evolution of a new “Latino American” identity from the 1500s to the present day, featuring interviews with close to 100 Latinos from the worlds of politics, business and pop culture — including Herman Badillo, Dolores Huerta, Gloria Estefan and Rita Moreno — as well as deeply personal portraits of lesser-known Latinos who lived through key chapters in American history.

“In six episodes of first-rate television, LATINO AMERICANS covers centuries of history about native-born Latinos and immigrants from throughout the Americas,” said Bosch, a Cuban-born filmmaker whose previous PBS projects include LATIN MUSIC U.S.A. and a number of documentaries for the series AMERICAN EXPERIENCE. “We do not shy away from addressing key issues of legitimacy, justice, discrimination and the very meaning of citizenship. The series has great cinematography, incisive interviews, evocative archive materials — but what I am most proud of is that we were able to tell history in the first person. Latino Americans is history ‘con nombre y apellido’ — with first and last name. And that is what makes our stories compelling and profoundly human.”

The diversity of the Latino American experience is reflected in both the on-camera interview subjects and the filmmaking staff. The production team, most of who are Latino Americans, includes individuals who are of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Salvadoran and Dominicans heritage, among others. In addition to Bratt as the narrator, the musical score for Latino Americans is by award-winning composers Joseph Julián González, a native of California’s Central Valley of Mexican descent, and Claudio Ragazzi, a native of Argentina; and the acclaimed singer-songwriter Lila Downs, born in Oaxaca, Mexico, will serve as the featured artist for the series, performing the closing song in Latino Americans. Visit pbs.org/latino-americans.

Corporate funding for Latino Americans is provided by The Ford Motor Company.  Major funding is provided by Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Foundation support is provided by Ford Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, The Rockefeller Foundation, The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, The Annenberg Foundation and The Summerlee Foundation. Funding for outreach is supported by a grant from The New York Community Trust.

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